Chapter 37: Volume 1, Chapter 37 — His Majesty Is Dissatisfied with the Crown Prince

Rong Luoge did not return directly to Xi Cheng, but went to a clothing shop and bought an outfit like those worn by ordinary girls on the street, then went to buy ink paste and paper, and went to a place like a tea stall with heavy foot traffic, ordered a pot of tea and sat in a corner, preparing to gather some news.

Away from others, she took out the seal, dipped it in ink paste, and rubbed an impression of the characters onto the paper, then put the things away, carefully cut the rubbed characters into individual separate characters, and pondered where to find someone who could recognize the characters.

"Rong Luoge?"

Rong Luoge heard a somewhat familiar voice, raised her head, and saw Ling Yuying dressed in men's clothing opposite her.

The two met each other's eyes, and for a moment neither knew how to speak.

Ling Yuying had been so surprised that the words slipped out, but now she felt a bit regretful, because she had come out dressed in men's clothing this time, which was indeed not a very presentable look.

Rong Luoge pointed at the seat across from her. "Sit down and have a pot of tea?"

Ling Yuying had no choice but to sit down first, and looked at Rong Luoge as she said, "Why are you dressed like this and here? You can't be this poor just because of the divorce—don't you still have your dowry?"

Rong Luoge knew Ling Yuying had misunderstood, but did not explain, and instead asked, "Then you, a dignified... why are you here?"

Ling Yuying naturally would not drink the coarse tea here, and only held the teacup, hesitating a moment before speaking. "I have some private business that is not convenient for others to know about, so I had to come out and do it myself."

Rong Luoge did not believe her—it wasn't as if she lacked dowry maids and serving women; could it be that even those people couldn't be trusted?

Perhaps because Rong Luoge's expression showed no intention of hiding her disbelief, Ling Yuying knew the other party didn't believe her, and sighed softly. "I have my own difficulties, and it's not convenient to tell you right now. Are you short of silver? Living like this is truly hard to believe—is the Zhen Guo Gong Fu not looking after you?"

As she spoke, Ling Yuying rummaged through her purse and took out two silver notes from inside. "I left in a hurry and didn't bring much silver—take these to spend for now."

Rong Luoge:...

She just couldn't quite understand what Ling Yuying was thinking.

"I'm not short of silver, and I came here because I have some business too. Thank you." Rong Luoge didn't know whether to laugh or cry; she hadn't expected that such a brief time together in the palace would make Ling Yuying show her such goodwill.

Ling Yuying saw that Rong Luoge didn't look like she was lying, so she straightforwardly put the silver away, and said in a low voice, "Then what are you doing here? This place is no good place—it's a mixed bag of all sorts."

"Aren't you here too?"

Ling Yuying:...

Fair enough!

"Shall we find somewhere else to talk?" Ling Yuying asked.

"Alright." Rong Luoge knew she wouldn't be able to gather any news now, so she followed Ling Yuying out.

The two left the long street, turned into a narrow alley, and Ling Yuying led Rong Luoge into a small courtyard. She turned back and said to her, "This is a house from my dowry—it's very safe, don't worry."

"Such a small house?" Rong Luoge asked in surprise, recalling how Ling Yuying had generously given her silver just now—she didn't seem like someone this poor.

"This is just one of them. It was originally part of my mother's dowry—small, but in a good location. When I married, it was casually given to me." As soon as Ling Yuying entered, the people in the house hurried forward to welcome her.

Ling Yuying led Rong Luoge directly into the front courtyard's study, had tea and refreshments brought in and the servants dismissed, before saying, "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me—I didn't expect to run into you there."

Rong Luoge nodded. "I didn't expect to run into you either. Speaking of which, I'm no longer the Princess Consort Qi, and I didn't expect you to greet me when you saw me."

Ling Yuying gave a cold laugh. "Does making friends depend on status? In the palace, I felt we had some affinity. But the business with Prince Qi was truly disgusting—good thing you got a divorce, otherwise life would have been truly miserable. For that alone, I count you as a friend."

So that was it—she had thought that Ling Yuying's attitude toward her in the palace hadn't been this close.

"Prince Qi hasn't been having an easy time lately—do you know that?" Ling Yuying said with a smile.

Rong Luoge shook her head. "I only know he's in the palace attending to the illness of Her Ladyship Consort Ming. I'm not clear about anything else."

"Speaking of Consort Ming, there's something rather strange—I heard that this morning Lady Ming entered the palace and seemed to have some unpleasantness with Consort Ming."

Rong Luoge hadn't expected Lady Ming to act so quickly—yesterday's matter and she was already entering the palace today. But that shouldn't be right—could it be that Lady Ming didn't want to wait until she had the evidence before making her move?

Or had something gone wrong in between?

Rong Luoge thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I actually know why."

"Hmm?" Ling Yuying looked at her with some surprise. "Why?"

Rong Luoge had originally intended to keep quiet for now, but since Lady Ming had already entered the palace and had a falling out with Consort Ming, Ling Yuying would certainly find out why very soon. When that happened, the fact that this matter was related to herself couldn't be hidden either, and by then if Ling Yuying looked back and thought about how she had kept it to herself now, she would probably feel disappointed.

She considered her a friend, and Rong Luoge had always been generous to her friends, so she recounted the matter of Ming Yuhua catching the affair in full.

Ling Yuying said in astonishment, "I truly never expected it—the Great General and Lady Ming were known as a loving couple, always praised as a fine tale in the capital—it was all fake."

Rong Luoge gave a cold laugh. "If men didn't stray, sows would climb trees."

Ling Yuying was immediately amused. "True enough—there's not that much lasting love in this day and age. Now the Ming family will surely have quite an uproar, and who knows what Lady Ming will do. Prince Qi being able to leave the palace today must be related to this matter as well."

"Prince Qi left the palace?"

"Yes. Previously, your divorce from Prince Qi caused quite a stir, and now everyone knows that Prince Qi has a confidante, and that for this confidante's sake he didn't hesitate to make you an empty-shell princess consort. Consort Ming kept Prince Xi confined mainly because she wanted to arrange another good marriage for him. However, that's rather difficult." Ling Yuying gave a cold laugh.

"With Rong Dai there, what family would be so foolish as to send their daughter to the Qi Wang Fu to suffer?" Rong Luoge said with complete indifference. "After all, the families that could marry into the Qi Wang Fu all have reputation and status—it's not as if everyone is as selfish and biased as the Protector Duke."

"Exactly. Consort Ming has been frantic in the palace over this matter, and even wanted to ask His Majesty to bestow a marriage, but I heard His Majesty did not see Consort Ming—clearly he is angry about this matter." Ling Yuying lowered her voice. "However, there must be the Empress's handiwork behind this. When Consort Ming has trouble, the Empress will certainly kick her while she's down—we just need to watch the spectacle."

Hearing Ling Yuying mention the Empress, Rong Luoge couldn't help but think of the Crown Prince, and after a moment's thought said, "The Crown Prince still hasn't begun attending court hearings—is His Majesty dissatisfied with His Highness the Crown Prince?"

By rights, the Crown Prince had long since been established as the heir apparent and should already be learning to attend court and gain experience.

Ling Yuying heard this and looked at Rong Luoge as she said, "You weren't in the capital before, so you probably don't know—His Highness the Crown Prince's health is not very good; he always falls ill several times a year. Add to that Consort Ming and Prince Xi whispering slander beside His Majesty, His Majesty's attitude toward the Crown Prince..."

Ling Yuying did not finish her sentence, but Rong Luoge had already understood.